


Happily Ever After

by CynicalRainbows



Series: The Next Best Thing [1]
Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: AU, Domestic Fluff, Family Feels, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:47:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24093079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CynicalRainbows/pseuds/CynicalRainbows
Summary: An AU for an AU: Jocasta leaves Edmund with Baby Kitty. The Next Best Thing Universe.
Series: The Next Best Thing [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1738228
Comments: 4
Kudos: 66





	Happily Ever After

‘Thank you again for having us, Jane-’ Jocasta shifted her infant daughter from one arm to the other to allow her to juggle with the carrier bags that were just about managing to cut off all circulation in her fingers. ‘I don’t know what we would have done if-’

‘Stop it’ Jane shook her head, faux sternly. ‘Please, for the last time, stop thanking me. Seriously. If you thank me again or apologise again, you’re sleeping on the sofa.’

‘But seriously though-’

Jocasta tried to take back the bags that Jane had taken from her so that she could carry them herself. 

‘-and I will take back the nice silent pink cat I brought for Kitty’s birthday-’ Jane continued, holding the bags out of her reach and talking as if Jocasta hadn’t spoken. ‘- and I will pick out the nosiest and most annoying thing I can find. Preferably one that plays a tune.’

Jocasta gave up trying to snatch her luggage away. Jane had always been the more athletic of the two, as proven by years worth of shared netball matches and swimming lessons, not to mention countless nights out dancing in whatever seedy nightclub took the least notice of their borrowed I.D cards.

‘You wouldn’t.’

‘Try me.’ Between them, they started to lug Jocasta’s luggage along the narrow hallway and up the stairs of Jane’s block of flats. ‘I don’t even have to wait for her birthday, I could just buy it just  _ because _ ...and when she’s old enough, I’ll get her a furby too.’

‘Oh Jane, no please, you know how creepy they are! Why would you even want to buy your goddaughter one, you hate them!’

‘I do-’ Jane conceded, stepping neatly round a little pile of ash and cigarette butts in the middle of a step. ‘But I also know YOU hate them too so….’

‘You’re evil, did you know that?’

‘Ah, but to Kitty, I’ll just be her favourite Aunty Jane who showers her with toys…’

Jane dug a key from her pocket and let them both into the small flat. 

‘I wouldn’t put it past you….’ Jocasta’s smile faded somewhat as she looked around. ‘Although maybe I shouldn’t discourage you….it’s not like I’m in a position to buy her toys myself. Or clothes or- y’know, put a roof over her head.’

She kept her tone determinedly light but her eyes stung as the reality of her situation hit her. Homeless, if not for Jane, jobless, boyfriendless- and with a baby too. Granted, the lack of boyfriend was more of a plus than a negative- and not even accidental but the result of four months of careful planning with Jane. Still. The thought was more than a little frightening.

‘Hey-’ The teasing look slid from Jane’s face at the first hint of her friends distress and she wrapped a warm arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. ‘You’ve done the best- the most important thing you could ever do for her, ok? You’ve kept her safe.’

‘Safe and homeless- just what every kid needs-’

‘No.’ Jane pulled back and looked at her sternly. ‘Not homeless. Look. Look around, Are you on the streets?’

Jocasta tilted her head to keep her tears at bay. ‘Jane-’

‘Answer me, are you?’

‘-No.’

‘No. You’ve brought her from a flat where both she and you were at the risk of god knows what….you’ve brought her to someone who loves you both very, very much. Where you can both be safe. Ok?’

Reluctantly, Jocasta nodded. ‘Sorry, just…. Oh god, it’s hard-’

‘I know.’ Jane pulled her back in again. ‘I know it is. I went through the same thing, don’t forget.’

‘I haven’t.’ Wearily, Jocasta wiped her eyes and shifted her sleeping daughter in her arms. ‘I know I’m being pathetic about it all-’

‘Stop it. You know that’s not what I meant. What I was trying to say is that you’re not alone in this, ok? I’m going to be with you every step of the way and you’ll be back on your feet before you know it.’ Jane nudged her gently. ‘If I can make it, you can too. You were always the clever one.’

‘Do you really think we’ll be ok?’

The question was hesitant but Jane’s answer was immediate. ‘Of  _ course _ .’ 

She guided Jocasta over the small sofa. ‘Just wait, in a couple of years, this will be just one of those memories we look back on when we’ve had too much wine and are getting all sentimental and maudlin. You and Kitty will have a place of your own- that’s just yours and no one else's. You’ll be able to work again, without anyone in the background complaining that you’re not at his beck and call-’

‘I can’t imagine it’ Jocasta shook her head sadly. ‘I can’t imagine it all happily like that Jane, with everything working out, I can’t picture it-’

‘Shhhhh’ Jane reached out and took her goddaughter into her arms so that Jocasta could make herself comfortable. ‘Let me imagine it for both of us then- and then I’ll be able to say I told you so and remind you of how right I was. Just think, Kitty will be three or four by then! She’ll be so big, she’ll be talking and waking-’

‘But she’s so tiny-’

‘-she’ll be running around getting into things, just like we used to when we were kids. Asking a million questions like you used to, driving everyone mad-’

Jocasta gave a watery chuckle.

‘She won’t remember Edmund, she won’t remember any of this. But she’ll be so loved. More loved than any little girl ever was before. More than you or I was.’

A tear slid down Jocasta’s cheek. ‘That sounds…..nice.’

‘I’ll spoil her rotten. I’ll tell her all the embarrassing stories from when we were little- I’ll tell her about all the times you came up with schemes that got me into trouble-’

‘Don’t you dare give her any ideas!’

‘-and all the games we played, I’ll sing her all the songs that we used to like.’ Jane squeezed her friend's hand. ‘And she’ll be so happy. So cared for. And she won’t make the mistakes we made because we’ll be looking out for her. She’ll have a good life, Jo. And when we’re old and watching her go off to uni or move into her own home, when she’s getting married or having her own children, or doing whatever she does with her life and we’re so proud of her, I’ll say I told you so, ok?’

‘Promise?’

‘Promise.’


End file.
